Dear BhakthAs of the Divya Dampathis of Srirangam :
I will cover the five slokas of RPS from 466 to 470 in
this posting . They deal with the prayer of Swami Desikan
to the PaadhukhAs to help him during his last moments
on this earth. On this Panguni Utthram day , one can not but
remember Sri Ranganatha's command to Acharya RamAnuja
to rest at the shade of His Lotus feet adorned by the PadhukhAs
(Swami NammAzhwAr ) at Srirangam until the last moment
of his life .
Verse 86 of the Naadha Paddhathi/slokam 466 of RPS
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Here Swami Desikan begs the PaadhukhAs to come to
his side and chase away the elements that frighten him
during the last moments of his life , when his limbs and faculty
would not be in tact. He says : " O PaadhukhE ! During those
moments of life , my limbs will be weak and will not obey me.
I will be crying out of delusion and make incoherent prattlings.
I will be terror sticken over the thought of what is waiting for me .
Please drive away the servants of Yama then through your holy naadhA
and bring your Lord close to me . I need your naadham during
my last moments to chase away the fears that would grip me .
Verse 87 of NAdha Paddhathi/Slokam 467 of RPS
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karaNa vigama kaalE kaala hoonkAra sankhee
dhruthapadham upagacchan dattha hastha: priyAbhyAm I
pariNamayathu karNE Ranganaatha: svayam na :
praNavamiva bhavathyA: paadhukhE ! manjunAdham II
(meaning ) : O paadhukhE ! During the final moments on
this earth , Yama himself may elect to terrorize us with
his hoomkAra sabdham to express his anger at our
intolerable sins . Your Lord RanganAtha would rush to our side
with His Devis on your back because of His worry that Yama
might arrive first and terrorize us . May we hear through your
sweet sound the rapid approach of the Lord to banish our fears !
Verse 88 of Naadha Paddhathi /Slokam 468 of RPS
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kamalavana sakeem taam koumudheem udhvahantham
savidham upanayanthee thaadhrusam Rangachandram I
praLaya dina samutthAn paadhukhE ! maamakeenAn
prasamaya parithApAn seethaLai: sinjithai: svai : II
(Meaning ) : O PaadhukhE ! Sri RanganAtha united with His consort
Sri RanganAyaki is like the moon united with its cool rays. Please bring
that moon and the inseparable nectar-like rays to my side during the last
moments of my life to cool me off from the scorching heat of my taapAs .
Please announce their arrival through your sweet naadham so that
I can hope for the onset of the relief for my sufferings .
(Comments ) : Here Swami Desikan appears to have
deep thoughts about Sri RanganAyaki . He brings in
the analogy of the moon and its cool rays. The divya dampathis
are inseparable like the moon and its lustre (Nilavu ) .
He compares Sri RanganAthA to the Chandran ( Ranga chandran)
and MahA Lakshmi( KmalA vana sakhee), the friend of
the Lotuses and the ponds , Where they blososm in big clusters
like forest growth . Swami Desikan compares Maha Lakshmi
to the cool moon rays ( Kaumudhee) or Nilavu . It is not easy
to separate the cool moon from its refreshing rays . It is hard
to know , which is which and how they are integrated as
a seamless unit (Tila Tailavath ) .
In the very first rk of Sri Sooktham , Sri RanganAyaki is
addressed as " ChandrAm HiraNmayeem Lakshmeem --".
Her residence in the Lotus forests ( Kamala Vana Sakee )
and her being awakened by the trumpeting of elephants
is saluted in the third rk of Sri Sooktham : " hasthinAdha
prabhodhineem " . In the fifth rk , RanganAyaki , who is
none other than Sri Devi is invoked as " ChandrAm
prabhAsAm YasasA Jvalantheem--" . She is visualized as
the moon shining with the lustre of Suddha satva dravyam .
In the 13th rk of Sri Sooktham , we get a clue about the
theme of this slokam of the RPS . This 13 th Rk is :
aardhrAm pushkaraNeem pushtim
pingaLAm padhma maalineem I
CHANDRAM HiraNmayeem Lakshmeem
JathavedhO ma aavaha II
(meaning ) : O MahA VishNu (RanganAthA ) possesing
all auspicious KalyAN aGuNAs ! May Thou make it possible
for us to have Your Consort , who is the appropriate object of
meditation for ALL to be near us always ! She is the one , who
with her cool glances reduces the heat of caused by the
taapa trayAs . She is the one , who offers worship to You
with the lotus flowers from Her place of residence . She is
of golden hue. She is adorned with lotus garlands and is the
treasure house of gold and all other kinds of wealth .
May Thou bless us to have her presence next to us as
the cool moon !
The invocation to the PaadhukhAs to bring the Divya dampathis
next to him during his last moments by Swami Desikan and
a playful comparison of them to the cool Moon and its rejuvenating
rays is a testimony to the poet's skills and deep devotion .
Verse 89 of Naadha Paddhathi/Slokam 469 of RPS
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Swami Desikan is still thinking about his last moments
on this earth and how the PaadhukhAs can help him . He
appeals to their help in this slokam also . He says :
" O PaadhukhE ! Your Naadham is majestic and is known
around the world for the assurance it provides to protect
one and all .Your travels (SanchArams) help to maintain
the continuity of that message of Yours . There is no secret about
the message that your Naadham brings . I have a personal request
to you . Please bring Sri RanganAthAy to my bed side
during my last moments and banish all my fears .
Verse 90 of Naadha Paddhathi/Slokam 470 of RPS
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Swami Desikan begs the PaadhukhAs to plead with
Sri RanganAtha during the last moments of his life .
He says : " O PaadhukhE ! When I am about to leave this
world , I will feel the touch of Yama on my neck and shoulder.
I will be terror stricken over that thought and expeience .
Delusion will set in . At that time , your Naadham is vital to me ,
since it would signal the arrival of your Lord to free me from my
terror and to grant me the blessings of Moksham . If RanganAthA
does not take quick steps at that time to come to my side , please
increase the volume of your naadham , so that He will know that you
can travel faster and permit Him to rush to my side " .
Panguni Uttaram day , 1997
Sri Ranganayaki Sametha Sri RanganathA !
SaraNAgatha RakshakA ! Thubhyam namO nama:
Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan